Category: Glasgow

Another year over – 31 December 2015

Posted on by Zogman

combo bJust another one of the many grey days we’ve had recently. Didn’t want to stay in though, so we took the train to Glasgow. Not looking for anything in particular and everything in general. Ended up walking down Bucky Street, along Argyle Street, coffee in Nero at St Enoch’s and back up Bucky street for the train home. I tell a lie, we nipped in to Waterstones where I got the last ever Terry Pratchett book, a book of Soup recipes (I kid you not) and Scamp, because she was so taken with some of the recipes in the Nigel Slater book Hazy and ND’A gave me for Christmas, got herself another Nigel Slater book! More food books – you can never have enough cook books. By the way, Hazy, your calendar is printed and as we were passing a Ryman, I got the A4 envelopes to post it in. It will be despatched as soon as the post office recovers from New Year.

While we were at Nero’s, I took the opportunity to photograph the futuristic subway entrances there. I must say I really am impressed with the use of steel and glass in the construction. Also impressive is the way Glasgow Council had managed to bung up the drains in front of one of them to create a little shallow pond that reflects their shape perfectly. Artistic but not so practical. Well done again GC.

So, here we are again watching crap TV in the hopes that there will be something worthwhile to pass the time until “The Bells”. It’s unlikely, as it’s never been good before, but there’s a first time for everything.

Until next year, Good Night All.

Don’t cross your legs – 24 December 2015

Posted on by Zogman

DSC_4649- blog--358Scamp thought I wanted to go in to Glasgow today and I thought she wanted to go in. It wasn’t until we were walking down Bucky Street that the crossed wires became untangled. We had travelled in on the bus and had just been to John Lewis where I showed Scamp the toy I’d like in my Christmas stocking, an Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II. Apparently Santa may not have any left as a lot of boys and girls have asked for that self same thing. Oh well, never mind, I’ll just have to wait until it turns up on MBP, second hand.

Went and had coffee in Cafe Nero at St Enoch’s, then headed back up to Sauchiehall Street. Blacks were having a closing down sale and I managed to snag myself a new Berghaus jacket. Maybe not as good as an Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II, but a lot more practical.

Just missed the bus home, but that’s about par for the course at the bus station and got talking to a wee visually impaired man who told me you should never sit with your legs crossed because it restricts your circulation. You won’t feel it at the time, he said, but it will get you later. I don’t know where he got that information from, but he was quite adamant about it.

Weather was mixed. Beautiful bright sun one minute, torrential rain and hail the next. Scamp says we have to blame Storm Eva for that. When I got home I slapped some paint on a canvas while I waited out the hail storm that was battering the window and then went out for a walk around St Mo’s. It didn’t rain, but the sun didn’t shine either. Managed one shot of a confused wee green shoot that thinks it’s spring. I think there are more cold winds, hail showers and possibly sunny intervals between now and then. Keep your fingers crossed ….. but not your legs!

A Delightful day – 21 December 2015

Posted on by Zogman

combo bWell, at times it was delightful.  It started well, with blue skies and early morning sun.  I had planned to go in to Glasgow to get my Christmas shopping finalised.  Well, sort of finalised.  Final is such a, well, final word that I very rarely use it.  Let’s say that “Today would see my Christmas shopping nearly finalised.”  That’s a better way to put it, it leaves a bit of wiggle-room.  “Wiggle-room” is a hyphenated word that will no doubt make it into the OED next year if it isn’t already there.  Scamp kindly offered me a lift to the station so I could travel in comfort rather than sit on a cold bus for 45mins.  The kind man at the station gave me £7 change with my tickets which was a bit of a surprise as I’d only given him a fiver!  I gave him the fiver back.  He smiled and looked relieved that I’d been honest.  After all, ’tis the season and all that crap.

By the time I got to Glasgow the rain was pelting down, so I cut to the chase edited out my window shopping and concentrated on the real stuff instead.  Got everything I wanted and headed home on the first available train.  I’d phoned Scamp and she was just driving in to the station as I was walking out.  Perfect timing.

After a swift lunch, we both went to the gym, separately.  She to have a ‘facial’ me to investigate the new whizzo machines in the gym and to have a swim.  Gym looks much better laid out now.  More stuff in it and it looks like there’s more space.  A sort of ‘Tardis’ conversion then.  I’m hoping to try out the machines later in the week.

Dropped in at Tesco to spend a Tesco voucher I got when I retired, that’s almost 18 months ago!  I bought myself a bottle of Glenrothes whisky with it (Whisky was what I was told to spend it on 18 months ago).  Glenrothes appears to have nothing to do with the New Town of that name.  I don’t think I’ve ever been to Glenrothes, but the name ‘New Town’ damns it anyway.  On the way to Tesco, the sky had cleared after dumping tons of rain on us from about 11.00am and it looked like being a great sunset and the statue of Arria was catching some great light, so I took the opportunity to combine the two and take some shots of it.  You get someone to build a gigantic statue of a Roman emperor’s mother (Why?).  You put it in a prominent place overlooking a busy motorway, but you don’t tell anyone how to get to it.  That’s Scotland for you.  Shoots itself in the foot every time.  Actually it’s quite easy to find if you know where, but isn’t that a universal truth.  You have to drive through Eastfield Cemetery, park at the end and find the overgrown path to the statue.   Simple!  Such a shame as it’s a stunning piece of work, but I’ve no idea why she has four arms.  There’s probably a good punchline waiting to be heard there.

So, for once it was a delightful day.  Started well, crap in the middle and finished well.  Sort of like a crap sandwich.  Now there’s a delightful thought to end with.

The Magnificent Seven

Posted on by Zogman

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnother dull, dark, wet day.  An ideal day to go for a swim in the warm waters of the leisure centre with no need to feel guilty about not exercising first, as the gym is being refurbished this week.  So off we went, both of us, because Scamp can now go when she wants – the freedom of retirement.

After that we headed in to Glasgow because, remember yesterday’s boots trip?  Well, this morning I decided that the boots were just a wee bit too wee for complete comfort.  Parked at Cowcaddens and took the underground to St Enoch’s.  Yes, I know it’s real name is St Enoch, without the apostrophe ‘s’, but it’s alway referred to as St Enoch‘ss, so that’s what it is here.  Got the boots exchanged for a green pair.  Scamp says it’s really my colour.  Don’t tell anyone in Larky that or they won’t let me in again.  This pair are a half size bigger, so that should be fine and dandy.

Technospeak Alert
On the way back to the car, I stopped to get a shot of the underpass at Cowcaddens.  I like this underpass with its interesting graphics and great lighting.  I wanted a bit of human interest and I thought I had the idea subjects when a group of guys wandered through.  There was my shot.  It even had a title “The Magnificent Seven” because there were seven of them.  When I got home and downloaded the shot I was disappointed to see that there were in fact, only six of them.  However, as always I’d taken another couple of shots from different angles.  One of them had a woman walking towards the camera at about the same distance as the six guys.  It was a simple matter to use Potatoshop to clip her out of one frame and insert her into the other one.  There, now it was the Magnificent Seven (Now referred to as the MS).  Isn’t that what they invented Potatoshop for?  The lighting was a bit more difficult to fix.  I tried low key, high key and HDR.  None of them worked for me.  I eventually used a preset I’ve been making good use of this week.  It’s a low key, high contrast monochrome.  The only problem was that the MS were lost against the background.  However, help was at hand with Lightroom’s new radial filter which allowed me to lighten the back wall and make the MS stand out in silhouette.  Just what I wanted.  There, that’s the full story, not the sanitised version that goes into Flickr.  I don’t know what it is with underpasses, bridges and tunnels this week.

Stopped at the Costa at Robroyston with the intention of going to Asda for essential shopping later.  When we came out, we couldn’t be bothered, so we decided to go home instead.  That’s what we did.  Scamp is out tonight at the choir carol service.  I offered to go with her, but she quite rightly said that I’d hate it, so she went on her own.  May start a painting later, or maybe I’ll just heat a pizza because it’s Friday.

Boots – 10 December 2015

Posted on by Zogman

combo bI went in to Glasgow today to get some paint – one tube of paint to be exact. Scamp was singing in the afternoon, so this got me out of the house too. I’d been looking for a new pair of boots. My old well worn Goretex walking boots were beginning to let in water. After five years of solid use that’s not surprising. For months now I’ve been looking for a replacement pair without much success. Today I chanced by Clarks in Argyle Street and there was the exact boots I was looking for. I’m not saying how much they cost, but the cost was proportionate to the cost of the old pair they are replacing. When I walked out of the shop I passed a camera crew recording interviews with passers by. On the local TV news tonight, there I was in the background. Hey, I was on the telly.

I went for the bus home, but when I got to the bus station a fire alarm started. Everyone just ignored it to start with. It’s Scotland. We find it hard to get excited about fire alarms, burglar alarms. If WW3 started we’d probably just stand and watch the bombs dropping thinking “where are the hidden cameras then?”. Eventually, when the fire wardens in their red Hi-Vis jackets appeared, people grudgingly exited the buildings. It was cold, the wind was gusting and there was a threat of rain (maybe it would put the fire out) so I decided to use my time constructively and went to John Lewis to have a cup of coffee and a scone. When I came out, the emergency was over and everything was running normally (i.e. there were no buses for Cumbernauld for about 30 mins). When I got home Scamp was gone to her gig(!) and the sun was out, so I went to take some photos. Walked along the Luggie again and used the 9mm lens a lot. I also used a Lightroom preset I’d made up to process the decent shots.

Last night the Mac crashed. Black screen, no sign of anything happening. Not a sound. Not a flicker. I eventually powered it down. Not the way you’re meant to do it, but by holding down the power button. You’re not meant to do that because it can cause problems. It caused problems. Every time I opened Finder (Windows Explorer to the MicroSofties) it would take about a minute to produce the goods. I eventually found out that it was a corrupted .plist. If that means nothing to you, don’t worry. I don’t understand either. All I know is that the repair I found on the net was convoluted, but it worked. I think. I’ll know better tomorrow when I try a reset. I can’t be bothered to do it tonight. It’s been a long day, but I’ve got a new pair of boots!

Oh yes, here’s the repair code:

In Terminal type

cd /Users/User/Library/Preferences/  <Where User is your user name>

rm -fr com.apple.sidebarlists.plist

rm -fr com.apple.finder.plist

Logout

Then Logout from the apple menu

 

St Andy’s Day – 30 November 2015

Posted on by Zogman

combo-bThe last day of November!  It started with rain, as have most of the days recently.  I had a full agenda today with a trip to Glasgow quite prominent.  I’d decided to go on the bus, thereby saving money since I had all day to go, shop and come back before dinner time.  Scamp was out with Gems singing in the afternoon, so the day was my own.  I wrapped up well and headed off to the bus stop, then remembered that the timetable changed earlier this month and I was now five minutes late for the bus.  Did I dare try to become one of the 700 who daily park at the station, or did I drive in to Glasgow, park in the exorbitant Concert Hall carpark and pay a king’s ransom for the privilege?  A dilemma.  I opted for the train.  Hey, it’s Monday.  Some folk will probably be having a long weekend and not going to work, so the carpark won’t be crammed full with people parking on the verges, in the turning circles and in the flower beds.  Strangely, for once, that’s exactly what happened.  Hunners of spaces.  Well maybe not hunners, but enough.  I got a space easily.  Even better, I got my ticket walked on to the platform and the train appeared.  As if by magic.  Sometimes things just happen for you.

By the time I got to Glasgow the sun had come out, the rain had stopped and the day was looking good.  Dandered through ‘The Toon’ and got what I was looking for, just the essentials.  I also saw some things that I’d like, like a new SSD (not to be confused with an S T D which is a totally different thing … or so I’m told) for the Mac.  Shh, don’t tell The Mac, it’s meant to be a surprise.  It might be its Chrissy Prezzy.  I saw a Sandisk 480GB one for £99 in Maplin and almost bought it, but decided to check on-line to see what price I could get it for there and to read some reviews.  As I thought, Amazon had one for £73.  Same make and same model.  It’s now on the shopping list, along with a new battery for the same unibody device.

In Glasgow I wandered around St Enoch’s Christmas Market.  How much longer will we be able to say ‘Christmas‘ without breaking some EEC law?  It’s ludicrous that we have to change our traditional names because we’re frightened of upsetting some group or other.  Moves are already afoot to change Easter holidays to Spring holidays because it offends some religious groups.  Doesn’t ‘Spring’ holiday offend Wiccans and Neopagans or some other nature loving group?  You can’t win.  Just leave it as it is and if other groups don’t like the word, then they don’t have to use it.  Simples!

Got some photos in and around the St Enoch area.  I’ve been watching the light on the new underground station there and the way it contrasts to the old St Enoch building with the clock tower.  Most impressed with the steel and glass structure.

Quick cup of coffee and a granola from Laboratorio Espresso and got the train home.  Overall a good day, greatly helped by the unexpected ease of parking at the station and by the glorious sunshine.  The down side was having to scrape the windscreen of the car before going out to Salsa tonight.  Oh well, you can’t have it both ways.  I much prefer the clean cold to the miserable rain.

I’ve just blown out of the windy city – 13 November 2015

Posted on by Zogman

ComboSitting in Caledonia cafe in Glasgow airport (20 mins for a roll ‘n’ sausage and a round of toast?  Come on Glasgow) after a slow drive along the M8. Just our luck for there to be an accident on the run to the airport. Shouldn’t complain because this is the first time it’s happened. Still, we were ahead of the main rush and got through security in double quick time, even if I did have to be scanned!  Reminded me of the wee Wii man!

 

Arrived safely in Tenerife after a false start in Glasgow. “A wee technical problem” doesn’t inspire confidence. However it got sorted and we had a good flight down.

Big room on 7th floor with a sea view. So far, so good.  Went for a walk down to the beach in the afternoon past all the touristy shops and blokes trying to get you into their electronic goods emporium to buy their fake Canon lenses. Let’s face it folks, real Canons are bad enough, without the added (dis)advantage of fakery!  Walked on the black sandy beach which reminded Scamp of the beach at Staffin and watched the sun go down over the sea.  Temperature wasn’t quite Staffin at 24° or thereabouts.

Dinner was the usual riot with folk barging in to the queue, but the food was good, especially the salads. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed the pickled green chillies.

Went to the kids club, but no Pepe 🙁  Scamp was quite disappointed.  Three piece group was the entertainment. They were awful. Singer couldn’t sing so he mimed. No James Brown, more like Wullie Brown.

Early bed after a couple of G & T’s.  Purely as a nightcap you understand.

Looking for a sun day on Saturday.

The Pink Guitar – 11 November 2015

Posted on by Zogman

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe day started with a final attempt to cover the rogue canvas in glory, if not paint. I took Scamps advice and ditched the greens and greys and went ahead with bright reds and oranges. I also did most of the work with a painting knife rather than brushes. A much better, looser result. Not brilliant, but an improvement on what was there before.

Today we went to Glasgow to buy a new dishwasher. Nothing fancy, just a simple machine that will wash dishes without bells or whistles. I don’t really care, just as long as it does its job and protects me from washday red hands.

Had lunch in Pulcinella and although the service was slow, the food was good, and that’s what matters. Coffee in Cafe Nero later, then we had to pay the exorbitant parking in the Concert Hall. I only wanted to park, not buy the building.

Getting ready to batten down the hatches for the first storm of winter tomorrow. Oh what fun.

Singing in the Rain – 5 November 2015

Posted on by Zogman

comboI had intended to get the bus in to Glasgow today.  Not for anything in particular, just for a walk and a bit of window shopping.  I then noticed that I’d just missed the bus and the next one wasn’t for 30 mins.  I decided on the spot to drive in instead.  30 mins until the bus then a 40 min bus ride into the city = 1 hour 10 minutes.  Drive in and be there in 15 minutes.  No Contest.  Ok, the bus is free and the parking will cost about a fiver, but still No Contest.

I had a walk down Queen Street to visit the two art shops there – Ok, I wasn’t really window shopping, I was looking for a portable watercolour paint box.  Wasn’t sure if I wanted to pay the price tag for the paintboxes in those shops, so I walked on to Millers or whatever its name is now it’s been taken over by an Edinburgh operation.  On the way I passed the wee jazz band busking in Argyle Street and playing their heart out.  As I walked past them they started into “Singin’ in the Rain” and the heavens opened … and forgot to close.  Wish I hadn’t dropped a couple of quid in his hat.

Millers didn’t have the paint box anyway, so I went back to Queen Street and paid the price.  On the way there, I waited a while to see if I could get any interesting shots against the giant animal posters.  Managed to get a few, then on to Queen Street.  After I came out of the Art Store I crossed to the GOMA.   As I was walking past the GOMA, this punter puts down what looks like a bodybag and proceeds to get into it and zip it up (Zips inside a bodybag??).  On closer inspection it was a suit bag.  I thought “ok, one photo” because this guy is a pri**.  The last two letters are ‘k’ and ‘c’, but not in that order.

Soaked, I got to the car and drove home.  It had cost me £6.00 for the parking, but at least I could drive home in 15 minutes and get dry, rather than wait for a bus and then have to sit in damp clothes for a further 40 minutes.  That’s why I use public transport occasionally and drive the rest of the time.

Hole in my Shoe – 28 October 2015

Posted on by Zogman

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAToday we went to Glasgow on the bus, in the rain. Scamp had booked lunch at the Ashoka in Ashton Lane. We were going to go by train, in the rain, but then I’d have to drive to the station and back again and that meant I couldn’t even have a beer with my lunch. Thank you Scottish Government. The nanny state on steroids.

Lunch was really, really excellent. First time we’d been there. I had chicken pakora and chicken bhuna. Scamp had veg pakora and saag paneer. Both were very good, but the star attraction was the naan bread. Usually these days the nan comes as chopped up pieces of a naan in a basket. I may be paranoid, but I think that leaves the door open to all sorts of possible mischief by unscrupulous restaurants. Using leftovers from a previous client springs to mind! None of that nonsense here. One big fat well fired naan, hanging on a stand dripping with ghee. Superb!! We’ll be back, all being well.

By the time we got back to Glasgow it was raining even harder. Bus back home. Thank goodness by accident they’ve changed the times of the busses in Glasgow so not all the Cumbernauld buses come at the same time. Now if you miss one, you only have to wait 15 minutes not the half an hour it used to be.

When we were walking home from the bus the rain seemed to get heavier. It was then I noticed the squeak from my left shoe an not long after that, I also noticed the wet soaking through. Good summer shoes, but not fit for walking in the rain. Such a shame.

Did I mention it rained today?